Driveby II: Big Brother, we love you, man!

You know those surveillance cameras they’re talking about installing
in Five Points, to cut down on crime — or at least have a better chance of solving crimes when they occur?Camera2_1

Well, I just found one (I think) in a spot that’s a good distance from Five Points. It was just barely in Lexington County, between the second and third mile marker on I-77 after it starts at I-26.

I don’t know how long it’s been there. I first noticed it yesterday, and thought, I ought to mention this to somebody in the newsroom. They might want to send a photographer out. Then I promptly forgot about it, until this morning, when I was about to pass it again, and had the same thought. Then I had a smarter thought: You’ve got a digital camera in your briefcase, ya eejit.

So I pulled over onto the shoulder and grabbed a couple of shots, which you see here.

Now, the really cool and sneaky thing about these cameras is that most people wouldn’t recognize them as such. I wouldn’t have suspected anything if I hadn’t recently handled a photo
of the kind they’re going to put in Five Points. In fact, cartoonist Robert Ariail was just in here looking over my shoulder and said, "Is THAT what those things they’re putting up on I-20 are? I thought they wereCamera1 light poles."

Exactly.

Anyway, apparently the one I spotted is hardly alone.

Obviously, this one — unlike the ones planned for Five Points — was not put there by the city of Columbia. Given the setting, I’m guessing the S.C. DOT. Maybe it’s going to be another one of their Webcams (I see they have one just a couple of miles from there). Maybe not. I don’t know. Sure, I could pick up the phone and call a few people and probably find out — which I would do if I were writing this for the paper — but this is my "driveby" category, not my "drive-by-and-then-get-
on-the-horn-and-call-a-bunch-of-people" category.

I just wanted to mention it, and see if any of y’all noticed it, and see what y’all think about it.

What do I think about it? Well, as you know, I’m no libertarian, so it’s fine by me. I love Big Brother.

What a sec; let me turn toward the camera and say that again:

"I Love Big Brother."

18 thoughts on “Driveby II: Big Brother, we love you, man!”

  1. Herb

    I’m assuming these things are traffic surveillance cameras? The people who tend to complain about traffic cameras are those who tend to violate traffic laws — I know, I’ve done enough of it in Germany, where these things have been standard police equipment for decades. The fines were pretty hefty. They are even worse in Switzerland. They caught a friend of mine doing 80 kph in a 50 kph zone. The fine was just over $500. See John 3:19-20 and Romans 13:3.

  2. Herb

    Oh kerfuddle. Follow the link, Brad says. So afterwards, I followed the link to webcam. Shucks, and I had thought the cops were finally going to start picking up speeders. Oh well, maybe someday I can watch libertarian speeders get fined in this country as well. Next time, I’ll try and look at your link first, Brad.

  4. Brad Warthen

    Actually, Herb, I was saying I don’t know WHAT they are.
    They look like surveillance cameras, but could be Webcams.
    I’ll go back and make that a little clearer.

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